Today, the remaining 26th round matches were played in the Italian championship. Victories were achieved by both capital clubs - "Roma", which repeated the record, and "Lazio", who triumphed away, while "Sampdoria" and "Udinese" unexpectedly stumbled at home.
Securing their tenth consecutive victory, equalling the "Serie A" record previously held by three other clubs, the "Roma" team won at home with a score of 1-0 against the "Empoli" team. The winning goal for their team was scored by the excellent form player Simone Perrotta. After this victory, "Roma" climbed to fourth place. However, the capital team also received bad news - in this match, the team captain Francesco Totti suffered a serious injury.
In a surprising defeat at home, the "Fiorentina" club lost 1-2 to the "Lazio" team. Although the hosts were more dangerous in the first half of the match, thanks to individual efforts by Valon Behrami, the goal was scored for the "Lazio" team. "Fiorentina" attempted to equalize the score, but at the beginning of the second half, the club conceded another goal - a header into the opponent's goal by "Lazio" forward Tommaso Rocchi.
The home team coach Cesare Prandelli took action quickly - young club super talent Valerij Bojinov entered the field, and after just eight minutes, he scored a fantastic goal to bring hope back to his team. "Fiorentina" increased the pressure after this goal, but "Lazio" goalkeeper Angelo Peruzzi played reliably and the capital team celebrated an unexpected victory.
Another unexpected result was recorded in Genoa, where the local "Sampdoria" lost 1-2 to the "Ascoli" team. The hosts, who had to play the last 15 minutes with a red card for Francesco Flachi, could not stop the rising "Ascoli", who climbed to 11th place in the standings after this victory.
At home, "Udinese" had to admit defeat to the "Siena" team with the same result. The hosts were buried by two goals from the visiting forward Rej Volpato in five minutes in the first half. Although "Udinese" showed a better game in the second half, they couldn't equalize the score.
In a very important victory in the battle of underdogs, "Parma" achieved a minimal victory away against the "Treviso" team. The victory was determined by the excellent performance of "Parma" goalkeeper Luca Bucci. However, the visitors should also thank the referee for the victory, as Fabio Simplicio's goal was offside, but the referee did not notice it.
The other two matches of this round between "Chievo" and "Palermo" and "Lecce" and "Reggina" clubs ended goalless.
Sunday's match statistics:
1 - 0
15` [1 - 0] Simone Perrotta
1 - 2
32` [0 - 1] Valon Behrami
49` [0 - 2] Tommaso Rocchi
60` [1 - 2] Valeri Bojinov
1 - 2
56` [0 - 1] Fabio Quagliarella
71` [1 - 1] Sergio Volpi
85` [1 - 2] Igor Budan
75` Francesco Flachi ("Sampdoria") sent off the field
1 - 2
34` [0 - 1] Rej Volpato
38` [1 - 1] Vincenzo Iaquinta (penalty)
39` [1 - 2] Rej Volpato
90` Vincent Candela ("Udinese") sent off the field
0 - 1
14` [0 - 1] Fabio Enrico Simplicio
0 - 0
0 - 0
Top scorers:
1. Luca Toni ("Fiorentina") - 22;
2. David Trezeguet ("Juventus") - 18;
3. Francesco Totti ("Roma") - 15;
4-6. Alberto Gilardino ("Milan") - 14;
Cristiano Lucarelli ("Livorno") - 14;
Andriy Shevchenko ("Milan") - 14;
7. Francesco Tavano ("Empoli") - 13;
8-9. David Suazo ("Cagliari") - 12;
Adriano ("Inter") - 12.
Standings: